Parts fail

[Charlie Bravo_imp]

Here's a rant. Wishing to support my local brick and mortar store, I went into a local Honda dealership, one of the largest in SoCal, on Beach Blvd in HB, to get a set of brake pads, front and rear. The parts guy said they only have the front, no rears. The rear is what I really want. They can order it, he said, but that would be another trip. I left. A few days later, I went into another shop, Del Amo MS on Cherry in LB. The had one side of the front, they can order the rest, etc. I see why riders buy online.

[the Ferret]

My 40 year old son knows that. Me, I still walk into the store for the dissapointment of finding out I'm not going home with what I came for. Of course I keep a spares box in the garage with new oil filters, brake pads, spark plugs and air cleaners for my bikes knowing I will need them sooner or later and have them on hand when I do, so I am only dissapointed the first time and order everything I think I'll need in the future.

[Honda_Fan_imp]

CB1100 is not a very popular bike therefore no one has parts in stock for them readily available.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Try to use the brakes as little as possible. They may last forever.

[Desert viper_imp]

CharlieBravo, I’ve been in both those dealerships, now my nearest Honda dealer is in Redlands, 70 miles away......most of the parts I’ve bought have come from SAMURIDER

[TINK_imp]

Most dealers these days only stock fast moving service parts.
Dealer can order parts from Honda and get them in one to two days.
The internet has made a trip to the deal as obsolete as rotary dial telephones.
Why wast time driving to a dealer only to find they don't stock anything.

As for the dealer business model; the mega dealers dominate the landscape.
Going to a mega dealer is like shopping at Walmart.
The days of the single model line family wonder dealer is gone for ever.

Here's a rant. Wishing to support my local brick and mortar store, I went into a local Honda dealership, one of the largest in SoCal, on Beach Blvd in HB, to get a set of brake pads, front and rear. The parts guy said they only have the front, no rears. The rear is what I really want. They can order it, he said, but that would be another trip. I left. A few days later, I went into another shop, Del Amo MS on Cherry in LB. The had one side of the front, they can order the rest, etc. I see why riders buy online.

I find it odd that they had front pads for your CB1100 and not rears.
The rear pads used on the CB1100 are common to a hundred other Honda models.
Go figure.

[Gone in 60]

HB Honda used to have prices quite a bit cheaper if you ordered them on their website than if you bought over the counter, and you could will call to pick them up to avoid shipping. A great deal when I owned three Hondas, and I took full advantage of that policy. Guess they figured out they were undercutting their own counter sales. After I bought the CB and tried to order some spares, I learned that they no longer allow will call pickup for online orders.

Still, they’re online pricing is pretty good, and if you’re close, shipping may not be too expensive. Might be worth a look.

[Cormanus]

Most dealers these days only stock fast moving service parts.
Dealer can order parts from Honda and get them in one to two days.
The internet has made a trip to the deal as obsolete as rotary dial telephones.
Why wast time driving to a dealer only to find they don't stock anything.

As for the dealer business model; the mega dealers dominate the landscape.
Going to a mega dealer is like shopping at Walmart.
The days of the single model line family wonder dealer is gone for ever.

Here's a rant. Wishing to support my local brick and mortar store, I went into a local Honda dealership, one of the largest in SoCal, on Beach Blvd in HB, to get a set of brake pads, front and rear. The parts guy said they only have the front, no rears. The rear is what I really want. They can order it, he said, but that would be another trip. I left. A few days later, I went into another shop, Del Amo MS on Cherry in LB. The had one side of the front, they can order the rest, etc. I see why riders buy online.

I find it odd that they had front pads for your CB1100 and not rears.
The rear pads used on the CB1100 are common to a hundred other Honda models.
Go figure.

And there's the rub. If you're the dealer, why stock anything when most people will order online and you'll end up with a large inventory you've had to pay for and can't shift?

[GoldOxide_imp]

Most dealers these days only stock fast moving service parts.
Dealer can order parts from Honda and get them in one to two days.
The internet has made a trip to the deal as obsolete as rotary dial telephones.
Why wast time driving to a dealer only to find they don't stock anything.

As for the dealer business model; the mega dealers dominate the landscape.
Going to a mega dealer is like shopping at Walmart.
The days of the single model line family wonder dealer is gone for ever.

Here's a rant. Wishing to support my local brick and mortar store, I went into a local Honda dealership, one of the largest in SoCal, on Beach Blvd in HB, to get a set of brake pads, front and rear. The parts guy said they only have the front, no rears. The rear is what I really want. They can order it, he said, but that would be another trip. I left. A few days later, I went into another shop, Del Amo MS on Cherry in LB. The had one side of the front, they can order the rest, etc. I see why riders buy online.

I find it odd that they had front pads for your CB1100 and not rears.
The rear pads used on the CB1100 are common to a hundred other Honda models.
Go figure.

And there's the rub. If you're the dealer, why stock anything when most people will order online and you'll end up with a large inventory you've had to pay for and can't shift?

And there's the rub. If you're the dealer, why stock anything when most people will order online and you'll end up with a large inventory you've had to pay for and can't shift?
And that is totally correct if you are running a business. I suppose the global online supply chain (the internet?) has to fail before local warehousing increases - but I suspect the item costs will too.

[Bazbro_imp]

My local Honda dealer is one of those rare small dealerships who sell more second-hand 'bikes of all makes, than new Hondas. I'm not sure how much longer he can remain a solus Honda dealer. Extremely sad if he does lose the franchise.